Esias 10

1 Woe to them that write wickedness; for when they write they do write wickedness,

Woe to them that make unrighteous decrees, That write oppressive decisions,

2 perverting the cause of the poor, violently wresting the judgement of the needy ones of my people, that the widow may be a prey to them, and the orphan a spoil.

To turn away the needy from judgment, And rob the poor of my people of their right; That the widows may become their prey, And that they may plunder the orphans.

3 And what will they do in the day of visitation? for affliction shall come to you from afar: and to whom will you flee for help? and where will you leave your glory,

What will ye do in the day of visitation, And in the desolation which cometh from afar? To whom will ye flee for help, And where will ye leave your glory?

4 that you may not fall into captivity? For all this [his] wrath is not turned away, but [his] hand is yet exalted.

Forsaken by me, they shall sink down among the prisoners, And fall among the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, But his hand is stretched out still.

5 Woe to the Assyrians; the rod of my wrath, and anger are in their hands.

Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, The staff in whose hands is the instrument of my indignation!

6 I will send my wrath against a sinful nation, and I will charge my people to take plunder and spoil, and to trample the cities, and to make them dust.

Against an impious nation I will send him, And against a people under my wrath I will give him a charge To gather the spoil, and seize the prey, And to trample them under foot like the mire of the streets.

7 But he meant not thus, neither did he devise thus in his soul: but his mind shall change, and [that] to destroy nations not a few.

But he doth not so purpose, And his heart doth not so intend; But to destroy is in his heart, And to cut off a multitude of nations.

8 And if they should say to him, You alone are ruler;

For he saith, “Are not my princes altogether kings?

9 then shall he say, Have I not taken the country above Babylon and Chalanes, where the tower was built? and have I [not] taken Arabia, and Damascus, and Samaria?

Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus?

10 As I have taken them, I will also take all the kingdoms: howl, you idols in Jerusalem, and in Samaria.

As my hand hath seized the kingdoms of the idols, Whose graven images were more numerous than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

11 For as I did to Samaria and her idols, so will I do also to Jerusalem and her idols.

Behold! as I have done to Samaria and her idols, So will I do to Jerusalem and her images.”

12 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have finished doing all things on Mount Sion and Jerusalem, [that] I will visit upon the proud heart, [even] upon the ruler of the Assyrians, and upon the boastful haughtiness of his eyes.

But when the Lord hath accomplished his whole work upon Mount Zion and Jerusalem, Then will he punish the fruit of the proud heart of the king of Assyria, And the arrogance of his lofty eyes.

13 For he said, I will act in strength, and in the wisdom of [my] understanding I will remove the boundaries of nations, and will spoil their strength.

For he hath said: “By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom; for I am wise; I have removed the bounds of nations, I have plundered their treasures; As a hero have I brought down them that sat upon thrones.

14 And I will shake the inhabited cities: and I will take with my hand all the world as a nest: and I will even take them as eggs that have been left; and there is none that shall escape me, or contradict me.

The riches of the nations hath my hand seized, as a nest; As one gathereth eggs that have been left, So have I gathered the whole world. And there was none that moved the wing, Or that opened the beak, or that chirped.”

15 Shall the axe glorify itself without him that hews with it? or shall the saw lift up itself without him that uses it, as if one should lift a rod or staff? but it shall not be so;

Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth with it? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it? As if the rod should wield him that lifteth it! As if the staff should lift up him that is not wood!

16 but the Lord of hosts shall send dishonour upon your honour, and burning fire shall be kindled upon your glory.

Wherefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall send upon his fat ones leanness, And under his glory shall he kindle a burning, like the burning of a fire.

17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and he shall sanctify him with burning fire, and it shall devour the wood as grass.

The light of Israel shall be a fire, And his Holy One a flame, Which shall burn and devour his thorns and briers in one day.

18 In that day the mountains shall be consumed, and the hills, and the forests, and [fire] shall devour [both] soul and body: and he that flees shall be as one fleeing from burning flame.

The glory of his forest and of his fruitful field From the spirit even to the flesh shall he consume; It shall be with them as when a sick man fainteth.

19 And they that are left of them shall be a [small] number, and a child shall write them.

The remaining trees of the forest shall be few, So that a child may write them down.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day [that] the remnant of Israel shall no more join themselves with, and the saved of Jacob shall no more trust in, them that injured them; but they shall trust in the Holy God of Israel, in truth.

In that day shall the remnant of Israel, and they that have escaped of the house of Jacob, no more lean upon him that smote them; They shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

21 And the remnant of Jacob shall [trust] on the mighty God.

The remnant shall return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty Potentate;

22 And though the people of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them shall be saved.

For though thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, Only a remnant of them shall return. The devastation is decreed; It shall overflow with righteousness.

23 He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because the Lord will make a short work in all the world.

For devastation and punishment doth the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, execute in the midst of the whole land,

24 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, Be not afraid, my people who dwell in Sion, of the Assyrians, because he shall strike you with a rod: for I am bringing a stroke upon you, that [you] may see the way of Egypt.

Yet thus saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts: Fear not, O my people, that dwellest in Zion, because of the Assyrian! With his rod indeed shall he smite thee, And lift up his staff against thee in the manner of Egypt;

25 For yet a little while, and the indignation shall cease: but my wrath shall be against their council.

But yet a very little while, and my indignation shall have past, And my anger shall destroy them.

26 And God will stir up [enemies] against them, according to the stroke of Madiam in the place of affliction: and his wrath shall be by the way of the sea, [even] to the way that leads to Egypt.

Jehovah of hosts shall raise up against him a scourge, As he smote Midian at the rock of Horeb, And as he lifted up the rod against the sea; Yea, he shall lift it up, as in Egypt.

27 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his yoke shall be taken away from your shoulder, and his fear from you, and the yoke shall be destroyed from off your shoulders.

In that day shall his burden be removed from thy shoulder, And his yoke from thy neck; Yea, thy yoke shall be broken, as that of a fat steer.

28 For he shall arrive at the city of Angai, and shall pass on to Maggedo, and shall lay up his stores in Machmas.

He is come to Aiath; he passeth through Migron; In Michmash he leaveth his baggage;

29 And he shall pass by the valley, and shall arrive at Angai: fear shall seize upon Rama, the city of Saul.

They pass the strait; At Geba they make their night-quarters; Ramah trembleth; Gibeah of Saul fleeth.

30 The daughter of Gallim shall flee; Laisa shall hear; one shall hear in Anathoth.

Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim! Hear, O Laish! Alas, poor Anathoth!

31 Madebena also is amazed, and the inhabitants of Gibbir.

Madmenah hasteth away; The inhabitants of Gebim take to flight.

32 Exhort you [them] today to remain in the way: exhort you [beckoning] with the hand the mountain, the daughter of Sion, even you hills that are in Jerusalem.

Yet one day shall he rest at Nob, Then shall he shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem.

33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will mightily confound the glorious ones; and the haughty in pride shall be crushed, and the lofty shall be brought low:

But behold! the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, shall lop the branches with fearful force, And the high of stature shall be cut down, And the lofty shall be brought low.

34 and the lofty ones shall fall by the sword, and the Libanus shall fall with his lofty ones.

He shall hew the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty hand.